Filling-detecting mechanism for looms.



PATENTED 001'. so, 1906.]

' E. s woon'.

FILLING DETECTING MECHANISM F OR LOOMS.

APPLIOA TION FILED APE-27.1906.

; UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

EVERETT swoon, or HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS. ASSIGNOR 'To DRAPER- COMPANY, or HOl EDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, A ooaro- BATIQN or AINE. I

' Fl LLlN G- DET ECTlN G M I No. 34,549.-

ECHANISM FOR: Looms. I

Patented Oct. 30, 1906.

. 7 Application filed April 27, 1906. Serial No. 313,980-

a/ZZ whom/it may concern: v 1 Be it .known that I, EVERETT S. WOOD, a citizen. of theUnited States, and a res dent of Q Hopedale, in the county of Worcester I and I 1 State of Massachusetts, have invented an Im- 5 provement in Filling-Detecting Mechanism for Looms, of which the following descrip tion, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like numerals on the drawings representing like parts.

light fork may be employed combined with. direct action in operation andsimplicity of. construction. The .parts are so arranged ,that when'filling absenceis detected the'fork,

and its pivots are entirely-relieved of any strain due to the 'movement of the fork-slide.

I have also provided means whereby upon the return stroke of the vibrating member or; actuator, commonly termed a .weft-hammer, the fork will not be moved or agitated: by engagement :with anypart of the saidv membeni. I 1 1 The usual fork construction comprehends a loop-like tail or extension which is engaged bythe vibrating member upon failureof the fork to be tilted, and the forkeslide is there upon connected with said member -,to be moved outward, the strain being transmitted through the tail to the fork-pivots,iso that the ta-il,- fork-pivots, and fork-body have to.

I be made heavy-and strong enough to resist,

such strain. This subjects the filling to.an, unnecessary strain every time it is struck by the fork-tines, and the tilting of the-relativelyheavy forktends to ,break the filling, especially when it is one of the fine counts. Filling-fork mechanism'should-be direct-i acting, simple, and prompt inoperation, and for the best results it is highly desirable that there shallbe'a' minimum agitation .of the fork between successive engagements with, the filling-that is, after the fork has been tilted and returns to normal or quiescent po. sition it should not be again moved'or agitated until it again engages the filling.

. In my present invention Iam enabled to use a fork of extremely light weight, thereby. reducing the strainon the thread, and by a simple and effective construction I relieve the fork of all strain when the slide is moved outward upon detection of filling absence.

These and other novel features of my in vention will be fully described in the subjoined specification and particularly pointed out in the following claims. I

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portion of the filling-detecting. mechanism of a loom 1 with one embodiment of my invention'ap- .This invention. relates to filling-detecting mechanism forlooms; and it; has for its ob ject: the production of means whereby a very plied thereto. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof on the line 2 2, Fig. 1, the fork being quiescent or in normal position. Fig. 3 is a similar view, but showingthe parts just after the outward stroke of the vibrator has i begun when absence of filling'has been de'' tected. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the fork-slide on the line 4 4, Fig. 1, looking toward the right. Fig. 5 is a top plan view; and Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of a modification to be described, the section being taken on the line 6 6, Fig. 5.

stand or guide 1 receives the fork-slide 2, bi-

' furcated atv its rear ends, as usual, to present laterally-separated sides. 3, between which bar 4 between the sides stiffening the same near the fulcrum of the fork. i A second cross-bar-5 is herein shown nearer the front end of the slide, having acentrallyportion 9.of a head or hook pivotally con .nect ed at 10 with the part 8, the rear endof the head or hook beingv branched or. bifur cated to present parallel cheeks 11,".which abutment 6 between them.. I

On the inner faces of the cheeks I have'pro- -vided lugs or shoulders 12, having notched faces 13 turned oppositely to the abutment ortoward the front of theloom, the under 5 sides 14 being convened to-present cam-faces.

(See Figs. 2 and 3.). c 4 Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the spacebetween the two lugs is'sufficient to Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the fined at their rear ends the fork is mounted, a crossprovided on its rear face with a projecting furca'ted "at its upper end to receive the hub rest or slide upon the cross-bar .5 with-the clear the abutment 6 as the vibrator 8 moves ighe hook or head back and forth on the cross- The filling-fork in my present invention is made very light, the tines 15 being secured to the body 16 by soldering or in any other suitable manner, the pivots 17 being fulcrumed in the sides 3 of the fork-slide.

The central fork-tine is extended forward, as at 18, and at its forward extremity is rigidly attached to a transverse enlargement or coupling member 19, shown as a short fiattened bar, it forming, with the connection 18, a species of T-shaped tail for the fork. This connection 18 is preferably made of tempered piano wire, and I have made it longitudinally elastic and extensible by forming therein a bend, as 20, so that a slight elongation of the connection can be effected without any material pull on the body or pivots of the fork. An extremely light fork is thus provided, and which will not break the finest filling when engaging the same during the operation of the loom.

The part 18 of the fork-tail is shown as resting on the cross-bar 4 when the fork is quiescent or in normal position, and at such time the coupling member 19 may also rest upon the shoulder 7, the downward movement of the tail being thereby limited.

Referring to Fig. 2, wherein the vibrator is at the end of its inward or return stroke, it will be seen that the coupling member lies behind the abutment 6 and between it and the lugs 12, but clear of both parts, the ends of the member 19 projecting laterally in the path of the lugs.

On the detecting beat the filling when present engages the tines l5 and tilts the fork, lifting the coupling member above the lugs, and the vibrator on its forward stroke carries the lugs ahead, so that when the fork returns to normal position the coupling member is behind the lugs.

As the vibrator makes its return stroke the cam-faces 14 ride up over the ends of the member 19 and then drop behind it, as in Fig. 2, so that there is no tendency to agitate or vibrate the fork between successive tiltin'gs thereof due to engagement with the filling. The fork consequently remains quiescent and is ready to be tilted properly and at the proper instant when next engaged by the filling.

When the filling is absent, the fork is not tilted, and the coupling member 19 remains in the path of the lugs 12 as the vibrator moves forward, and when the notched faces 13 engage said coupling member it is moved forward very slightly into engagement with the abutment 6, the connection 18 extending or giving longitudinally by reason of the bend 20.

The member 139 now couples the vibrator and the fork-slide together and takes up the whole of the resulting strain, so that the fork itself is entirely free from any pull or strain during the movement of the slide.

The elasticity of the connection 18 provides the clearance between the member 19 and the abutment when the loom is running normally, so that there is no obstruction to the free tilting movement of the fork.

From the construction it will be manifest that if for any reason the head or hook of the vibrator should rise far enough to get above the fork-tail no trouble would result, because the two parts will always and automatically resume their proper relative position as soon as the return stroke of the vibrator has carried the lugs 12 back far enough to drop behind the coupling member 19. The engagement of the tail part 18 with the cross-bar 4 at a point relatively near the fulcrum of the fork tends to materially lessen any chance of the fork vibrating when it returns to rest after being tilted.

In the construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6 a very common form of fork-slide is shown, and I have notched its sides 21, as at 22, the front walls of the notches forming abutments for the coupling member, in this instance shown as a rod 23 of sufficient rigidity. This rod is connected with the body 24 of the fork by light wires 25, bent at 25 to give or extend slightly longitudinally, the hook 26, fixedly mounted on the weft-hammer 27, having a shoulder 28 to engage the coupling member 23 between the connecting-wires 25. (See Fig. 5'.)

Tilting of the fork lifts the member 23 out of the notches and above the shoulder of the hook; but if filling fails the shoulder 28 en gages the rod, extends the wires 25 slightly, and brings said rod into engagement with the front walls of the notches 22, servin as abutments, and the vibrator and fork-slide are coupled together without any strain on the fork.

The upper edge of the hook is shaped to prevent any a itation of the fork on the return stroke of tlie vibrator, for when the tail descends after the fork has been tilted it will have only a short distance to fall before striking the said upper ed e of the hook, down which it will slide on t 1e return stroke of the vibrator till it drops off the corner of the shoulder 28.

In both embodiments of my invention it will be seen that the construction is simple and direct acting, that the fork can be 1r. ade very light, that when the fork-slide and vibrator are coupled together no strain is transmitted to the fork or its pivots, and that on the return stroke of the vibrator there is pralctically no tendency to move or agitate the Having fully described my invention, what IOR I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a loom, in combination, a tilting filling-forkhaving a tail, a vibrating actuator having a hook to engage the fork-tail upon detection of filling absence, and means to cause the hook to ride over the fork-tail and drop behind the same on the return stroke of the hook, whereby movement of the fork by the hook is prevented at such time.

2. The combination, with a filling-forkhavvibrating member to ride over and drop be-.

hind the transverse extension of the fork-tail onthe return stroke of said vibrating member when the fork is quiescent.

3. The combination, with a tilting fillingfork having a tail, of a slide on which the fork is mounted, an abutment on the slide, behind which the end of the tail lies when the fork is in normal position, a vibrating member to engage the end of the tail and press it against the abutment upon detection of filling absence, and means to cause said member to normally ride over and drop behind the end i of the fork-tail upon the return stroke of the said member, to prevent movement of the fork at such time.

4. The combination, with a fork-slidehaving an abutment, of a tilting filling-fork mounted on the slide and having a longitudinally-extensible tail provided at its end with a transverse enlargement, to lie'behind the abutment when the fork is in normal position, a stop to limit descent of the tail, a vibrating member to engage the enlargement upon detection of filling absence and press it against the abutment, whereby the movement of the slide is effected through the extension without strain on the fork,'and means to cause the engaging portion of the vibrating member to ride over and drop behind the enlargement on the return stroke of said vibrating member when the fork is quiescent.

5. The combination, with a filling-fork, of a couplingmember connected therewith, a fork-slide having an abutment behind which said member lies when the fork is in normal position, a vibrating hook between which and the abutment the cou ling member is caught upon detection of fil ing absence, and means to prevent movement of the normally positioned fork by the hook upon the return stroke of the latter.

6. The combination, with a tilting fillingfork havin a transverse coupling member connected t erewith, of a fork-slide having a central abutment behind which said member lies when the fork is in normal position, a weft-hammer havin a bifurcated hook provided with inturned ugs on its opposite sides, to engage the coupling member and press the same against the abutment upon detection of filling absence, and means to cause the lugs to rice over and drop behind the coupling member on the return stroke of the weft-hamm er when the fork is normally positioned.

7 The combination, with a tiltingfillingfork, of a transverse coupling member, anextensible connection between it and the fork, a fork-slide having an abutment portion behind which the coupling member lies when the fork is at rest, a vibrator having a shoulder portion to engage the coupling member and press it against the abutment portion of the slide when filling absence is detected, to thereby couple the slide and vibrator, the connection between the fork and coupling member temporarily elongating at such time,

and means to prevent ti ting movement of the normally positioned fork by the vibrator on the return stroke of the latter.

8. The combination, with a fork-slide having an upright abutment, of a tilting fillingfork having a rearward extensible prolongation provided at its end with a transverse coupling member, a vibrating member having a shouldered portion faced oppositely to the abutment, the cou lin member lying between and clear of t e s ouldered portion and the abutment when the fork is quiescent, and means to limit the downward movement of the coupling member; the latter being caught between the abutment and the shouldered portion of the vibrating member upon detection of filling absence, to couple the vi brating member and fork-slide while extension of the prolongation on the fork relieves the latter from strain.

9. The combination, with a fork-slide hav: ing an upright abutment, of a tilting fillingfork having a connected transverse coupling member, a vibrator having a shouldered portion faced oppositely to the abutment, the

coupling member 1 mg between and clear" of said arts when the fork is quiescent, the coupling member being brought into engagement with the abutment upon detection of filling absence, to move the fork-slide without strain on the fork, and means to cause the shouldered portion of the vibrator to ride over and drop behind the coupling member on the return stroke of the vibrator when the jrorl}; is quiescent, to obviate movement of the 1 0. The combination, with a fork-slide having an upright abutment, of a vibratin wefthammer, a hook pivoted thereon and aving a shoulder faced oppositely to said abutment, the under side of the shoulder presenting a cam-face, and a tilting filling-fork, having a tail provided With a transverse end to lie between said abutment and shoulder when the fork is quiescent, the forward stroke of the hook bringing the shoulder against the said transverse end of the tail and pressing the same against the abutment, to move the forkslide, upon detection of filling absence, the,

cam-face riding over said transverse end and allowing the shoulder to drop behind it when the hook returns and the fork is quiescent.

1 1. The combination, with a fork-slide having an upright abutment, of a tilting fillingfork having a T-shaped tail the transverse end of which lies behind the abutment when the fork is quiescent, a weft-hammer, and a pivoted head thereon having inturned, o posite lugs provided with notched front faces and convex under sides, the end of the forktail seating on the notched faces of the lugs and being thereby pressed against the abut- 2 EVERETT S. WOOD.

Witnesses:

FRANK J. DUTCHER, J. L. REMINGTON, Jr. 

